III' Positive Subjective Experiences of the Past

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III. Positive Subjective Experiences of the Past

• A.Well-beingWell-being is the pervasive sense
  that life has been and is good. It is an ongoing
  perception that this time in ones life, or even
  life as a whole, is fulfilling, meaningful, and
  pleasant (Myers, 1993).
• 1. Dynamic equilibrium theoryWell-being remains
  relatively consistent over the life span because
  of personality, although current events in
  peoples lives can either raise or lower
  well-being temporarily (Diener, Suh, Lucas,
  Smith, 1999).
• 2. People who have a high sense of well-being
  tend to be extraverts, optimists, and worry-free.

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• 3. The types of goals people have determine how
  much well-being they are experiencing with life
  in general.
• a. Intrinsic goals are positively correlated with
  well-being.
• b. Extrinsic goals are negatively correlated with
  well-being.
• 4. Contrary to popular belief, well-being does
  not rise when income rises.
• a. Wealth does not mean well-beingAccording to
  University of Michigan researcher Ronald
  Inglehart (as cited in Myers, 1993), people from
  wealthier countries report higher levels of
  well-being than those in poorer countries on
  average, but levels of well being differ from
  country to country. West Germans average twice
  as much personal income as the Irish, but the
  Irish report being happier. The same can be seen
  with the wealthier French as compared to their
  Belgian neighbors.

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• b. Within countries, the richer are not always
  happier. Living in abject poverty does not
  promote happiness, but having more than one needs
  has little effect on ones well-being. Diener and
  colleagues (Diener, Horowitz, Emmons, 1985)
  interviewed 49 of the wealthiest Americans as
  listed by Forbes magazine and found them to be
  only slightly happier than average.

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• 5. Health does not correlate with well-being. How
  people view their health depends on their
  emotional state and objective measures of their
  health from doctors (Diener, Suh, Lucas, Smith,
  1999).
• a. People generally need a basic level of health
  wherein pain does not interfere with activities
  (Williamson, 1998).
• b. People with high levels of well-being and hope
  usually return to normal levels of well-being
  after unpleasant diagnoses of illness (Synder,
  2000).
• c. The exception to this rule is for people with
  multiple disabling conditions. Although their
  well-being eventually goes up after initial
  diagnosis, they usually do not return to normal
  levels of well-being that were present before
  diagnosis.

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• B. SatisfactionSatisfaction is the feeling that
  one has accomplished a goal during a certain
  period of time.
• 1. As long as people feel they are reaching their
  goals somehow, satisfaction remains unaffected.
  Although the ultimate goal may be high, even
  small achievements can foster feelings of
  satisfaction.

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• 2. People use social comparison to determine how
  well they are achieving satisfaction with life.
• a. Adaptation-level principlePeoples
  satisfaction is relative to their prior
  experience. People tend to compare their present
  levels of satisfaction with past experiences.
  When situations change for the better or worse in
  relation to perceived goals, levels of
  satisfaction are affected. For example, students
  who receive a higher grade than expected both
  feel good and praise the teacher whereas those
  who receive a lower grade than expected both feel
  lousy and trash the teacher. Thus, a B grade
  could mean something quite different to the
  student who expected an F as compared to a
  student who expected an A, thus changing levels
  of satisfaction with the class (Snyder Clair,
  1976).

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• b. Relative deprivation principlePeoples
  happiness is relative to others attainment of
  happiness. How happy or frustrated people feel
  depends on with whom they compare themselves.
  People readily identify others as being rich or
  beautiful, but rarely believe themselves to be
  so.
• For example, to someone making 10,000 a year,
  50,000 seems like wealth but to someone making
  500,000 a year, 1,000,000 seems like wealth.
• Activity 3.1 The Satisfaction With Life Scale
• Transparency Master A Wealth and Well-Being